Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are among the University of Kentucky’s core values. As the institution’s current strategic plan states, a commitment to those values should inform – and help guide – everything we do. Enhancing diversity and inclusion is both a goal itself for the campus, but it also “is inherent in all of the university’s strategic goals.” http://www.uky.edu/Provost/strategic_planning/plan.htm

We know that such a commitment helps better prepare our students for lives of leadership, meaning and purpose as they enter a diverse, complex and interdependent world. And it creates a work environment that is richer and more engaged with the broader world outside our campus.

But numbers cannot – and must not – be the only way our university measures success in creating a diverse and truly inclusive environment. The Office of the Provost this academic year is undertaking an initiative to understand the current status of diversity and inclusion efforts and where and how they can be enhanced.

Already, for example, the Provost’s Office has undertaken an audit of existing data related to women faculty. That examination will help guide a white paper being developed that will detail both our progress – and the gaps we still need to address -- as an institution in developing women in leadership.

In the coming months, and as part of the current planning process for “see tomorrow. The University of Kentucky Strategic Plan,” similar efforts will be underway to assess all dimensions of diversity and inclusion on the University of Kentucky campus.

We understand that the work of diversity and inclusion is never done. It is an ongoing journey, a goal with no end, but one for which specific markers of progress must be established along the way.

The University of Kentucky is committed to that journey. As specific plans are developed in the coming weeks and months, please check back with this website to learn more about how you can become involved and follow our progress.